Combination blower and suction sweeper



Dec. 15, 1936. c. A. GOOD 2,064,344

COMBINATION BLOWER AND SUCTION SWEEPER Filed Augf 25, 1933 I v x IN V EN TOR.

dim/a554- 00a Y ,4 Q. ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 15, 1936- FFlCE COMBINATION BLOWER AND SUC'I'IO swam:

Charles A; Good. Eureka. cam. a ucsaon August :5. 1m, Serial No. scam. f

v Claims. (01. 15-14) g The invention relates to hand-controlled Figure is a bottom view of the forward'porpower-operated suction sweepers such as commonly used .in cleaning households and the like.

An object of the invention is to provide'a 5 sweeper of the character described, which has a blower arrangement associated with the suction nomle whereby a stream of air'may be directed against, .the surface to be cleaned to eifect a loosening of the dirt as an initiatory action to sucking the dirt into the nozzle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combination blower-suction sweeper in which the stream of air for blowing will be so arranged .with respect to the suction inlet that a thorough agitating of the dirt may be eifected while at the same time insuring against the. escape of any of the agitated dirt particles from the desired influence of the suction.v

A further object of the invention is to provide set up by means of a stream of air,a swirling turbulent action on the dirt particles previous to their coming under the direct influence of the' .1

suction opening similar to that produced with the 85 rotary brush commonly associated with the sweeper. I v

An additional object of the invention 'is' to provide a combination blower-suction sweeper from which may be emitted a stream of air for cleaning inaccessible areas such as flooring along y the base of the walls of a room, onithe mere engagement of a portion of the sweeper with such walls.

The invention possesses other objects and features of "advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following ,description of the preferred'form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawing accompanying and forming part of the specification. Itis to be understood, however, that variations in the showing made by the said drawing and de-' I scription may be adopted within the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims. Referring to said drawing: v

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of a sweeper made in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional detail view 1 of, the sweeper, taken in the same plane as Figure 1,. and showing the blower and suction openings at the bottom of the sweeper.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view of an 'end portion of the sweeper at the blower and suction openings.

tion oi the sweeper. I

Figure 5 is a fragmentary front view atan 'end of the sweeper.

Figure 6 is a. perspective view of the fan'for creating the blower draft. h

Figures 7 and 8 are perspective views of the hose extension and attachment plate that may be used with the sweeper.

Figure 9 is a diagrammatic representation of the blower'discharge portion of the sweeper. 1 The'sweeper in the preferred embodiment-of the invention comprises a portable unit 2 mounted on wheels I and made up of a suction pump 4, a blower pump 5. and an electric motor 8. In the design shown the axis of rotation of the motor as well asthat of each of the pumps is horizontally disposed and a common shaft 8 serves for all three members. Preferably the suction pump is located at one end of the unit while the blower pump is interposed between the suction pump and the motor. g The inlet passage 8 for the suction pump is, located as here shown at the front of the unit, and the intake orifice ll thereof is disposed at the underside-of a nozzle I2 at the outer, end of passage Q. Delivery of from the blower pump is through a passage it which extends in a general way up to theinlet orifice II in the nozzle. Intake of air to the blowerpump is desirably disasscciated fromiany communication with the suction pump, and an unadulterate supply of fresh air to the blower is afforded through openings I4 and ll in the motor and blower pump walls. As will be clear from Figure 1, separate fans l1 and II as well as compartments are provided for the pumps, and in the instance of' the blower fan i! each blade I! has provided thereon a flange 20 which extends along the back edge thereof and serves to cone centrate the discharge of air radially for direct discharge into the peripheral intake of the delivery e il As probably most clear from Figure 2, the delivery passage it does not lead the blower air 45 directly to the suction inlet, but instead transmits same to what may be conveniently termed an agitating chamber 2i which communicates with the suction inlet and has an open side 22 along the bottom of the nozzle coextensive with the suction orifice ll. Preferably the air enters the chamber 2| from passage II by way of a row of openings 23 formed in a partition 24 separating the main passage from the chamber, and said openings are declined whereby the air will 56 be directed forwardly and downwardly against the surface to'be cleaned. It will be noted that the chamber extends considerably upwardly and the walls thereof are so designed that when air strikes the forward wall it will be deflected upwardly and backwardly to set up in the chamber a swirling air current which subjects the dirt particles on the surface aforesaid to an action:

similar to that produced by the use of the rotary brush as commonly provided on a sweeper. The

' motion of the stream in the chamber is diagramthis space that the air stream, together with the dirt raised by thestream, is passed from the chamber to the inletfor conveyance to the dirt collecting bag or other device associated with the sweeper. The space 26 is created by reason of engagement of a shoe 21 or the like with the surface to be cleaned. --The shoe, as will be clear from Figure 2, is positioned up against the under surface of the sweeper immediately to the rear and ends of chamber 23 and for this reason the air and dirt in the chamber will be prevented from escaping anywhere except through the space 26. a Y I One of the features of the sweeper of the present invention is the incorporation of means for cleaning out normally inaccessible corners as between the floor and walls of a room and the like by use of a special blower arrangement which is operatively connected to the blower andsuction nozzles first described. This blower means is provided at the extreme forward edge of the sweeper at the front of the suction nozzle l2 so that on advancing the sweeper into a corner streams of air may be discharged directly into the comer for loosening the dirt or dust therein, whereby the latter may be easily drawn into the suction passage of the sweeper. As will be clear from Figures 1 and 4, there is provided across the forward edge of the nozzle |2 an air passage 3| which, adjacent the, sides of the sweeper, is extended rearwardly and communicates with the blower passage l3. The portion of the passage 3| across thefront of the sweeper is provided with a series of jet openings 32 which slope downwardly and forwardly so that the air discharging therefrom will be directed directly into the cor-' ner and against the floor surface to be cleaned. Normally, the passage 3| is closed from communication with the blower passage |3 so that when cleaning a portion of the floor away from the walls, the full force of the pump means will be directed through the jet 23 and into the turbulence chamber 2|, and on the other hand means is provided for closing off this latter discharge when the blower 3| is put into operation. this change of the blower output from behind the suction nozzle to thefront of the sweeper and vice versa, is arranged to be eifected automatically asthe sweeper is advanced to or withdrawn from a wall. As will perhaps be best seen from Figures 3 and 4, there is mounted directly in the turbulence chamber 2|, a flap valve 33 which is fixed at its upper end to a shaft ,43 rotatably carried by the'sweeper casing across the top of the turbulence chamber. Pivoted to the ends of the valve 33 and extended through guides 55 in the partition 24 are the stems 53 of a pair of valves 33, which are disposed in the blower passage l3 and'are movable together with the flap valve 33 into and from a closed position in the ends of the passage 3|. It will thus be understood that upon turning of the shaft 43 to move the valve 33 against the partition 24 and thereby close the passages 23, the valve 33 will be similarly displaced to open the passage 3| to the passage l3, and conversely a movement of the fiap valve away from the partition 24 and the openings 23 will be accompanied by a movement of the valve 33 into a closed position in the ends of the passage 3|. The means for so controlling and regulating the aforesaidvalve movements is provided in part by a buffer rail 36 extending across the front of the sweeper and which is provided with right-angular extended end portions 51 which are slidably carried in guides 53 and are connected at their ends to a pair of crank arms 31 mounted on the ends of the shaft 40 at the outer sides of the sweeper case. Thus, on movement of the sweeper to engage the rail 36 against a wall or the like, the rail will be displaced to rotate the shaft 43 and operate the valve mechanisms. In order that the valves 33 and 33 will be normally held respectively open and closed, a pair of springs 34 are mounted at the opposite sides of .the sweeper and connected to the crank arms 31 at a side opposite from the ends 51 with respect to the shaft 43. In this manner, the springs 34 will normally maintain the shaft 43 in a rotated position holding the valve 33 open and the valve 33 closed and. the buffer rail 36 extended in spaced posi tion forwardly of the sweeper and will resiliently resist an inward displacement of the rail 36, for

operating the valves as aforesaid and serve to return the valves to their normal position on release of the rail. 6

As will be clear from Figure 1, the buffer rail 36 is positioned above the discharge openings 32 and thus 'when moved against a side wall and displaced to against the end of the sweeper, the

same will restrict the upward escape of the dust particles loosened in the corner and will form sort of a pocket for directing the movement of such particles into the field of the suction nozzle.

Should it be desired to use a cleaning extension 43 withthe sweeper, an attachment plate 4| such as illustrated in Figure 8 is secured to the nozzle.

The plate is arranged to fit over the underside of the nozzle and is secured in position by hooks 42 and 43, the hook 42 fitting overthe front flange 44 of the nozzle while the hooks 43 snap over and engage end portions of the nozzle. In the'plate are provided openings 45 and 46 which register respectively with suction inlet and front blower openings 33, a blank portion 41 being provided on the plate for closing the chamber 2|. Retention of the rail in inward position when the attachment plate is on the nozzle, is afforded by engagement of the front hook 43 therewith. Pipes 43 and 43 connect with the openings 45 and 46, and such pipes are designed for insertion in the blower and suction passages 5| and 52 of the extension 43.

Iclaim:

1. In a sweeper of the character described, an air suction nozzle arranged for'movement over and to withdraw dust from a surface to be cleaned, and an air blower nozzle movable together with and in advance of said suction nozzle on being moved against a wall or the like to open said valve and permit discharge of airfrom said nozzle downwardly into the corner defined be-- tween the wall and surface .for movement of dust particles in the corner into the field of said suc-.

, tion nozzle.

2. In a sweeperoi' the characterdescribed, an air suction nozzle movable over a surface to be cleaned, anwair blower nozzle'movable in advance of said suction nozzle and opening down-' ward adjacent the front edge of the sweeper I whereby onmovement of the sweeper to an edge of the surface adjoining a-wall the blower nozzle will discharge air downwardly into the corner between the wall and surface to loosen the dust therein for movement into the field of said suction nozzle, and means extending along the forward side of said sweeper for engagement with, said .wall for defining therewith a pocket for preventing the upward deflection of dust from said corner.

3. In a sweeper of the character described, an air suction nozzle movable over a surfaceto be 'cleaned, an air blower nozzle movable together with and in advance of said suction nozzle and opening downwardly adjacent the forward bottom edge ofsaid sweeper whereby on movement of the sweeper toan edge of the surface adjoining a wall said blower nozzle will be positioned for discharging air downwardly into the corner.

between the wall and surface to loosen the dust therein for movement into the field ofsaid suction nozzle, means extending along the forward side of said sweeper for engagement with saidwallfordefining therewith a pocket for preventin'g the' upward deflection of dust from said cor- 3 nor, valve means forcontrolling the air passage to said blower nozzle, and means connecting said valve means and said first means and being opera- 7 -tive on engagement of the latter with said wall to actuate said valve means to permit air passage to said blower nozzle. I

Q. In a sweeper of the-character described, an air suction nozzle arranged for movement over and to withdraw dust from a surface to be cleaned, an air blower'nozzle at the rear of said suction nozzle arranged to blow air over said surface and into said suction nozzle, an air blower nozzle movable together with and in advance of said suction nozzle and opening downward adjacent therforward edge of the sweeper where-.- by on movement of the sweeper to an edge of said surface adjoining a well said last named nozzlev will blow air downwardly into the comer defined between the wall and surface for movement of and buffer arranged normally to maintain the passages of said first and second blower nozzles respectively open and stopped and serving on engagement-of said buffer and wall to stop said first blower passage and open the second.

air suction passage opening to the bottom of the sweeper and movable over a surface to be cleaned, a downwardly opening chamber provided in the sweeper bottom adjacent and cbn'imunicating with said suction passage a plurality" of jet inlets opening to a side of said chamber, and a source of air under pressure communicating with said inlets, said jet inlets being formed to direct air downwardly and angularly through said chamher to a point on said surface adjacent the oppo- 5. In a sweeper of the character described,

lil-

site side of said chamber whereby a swirling and turbulence of air will be setup in said chamber tending to loosen dust onsaid; surface. s i e i errant-nan. Goon. 

